Serbian Present Tense: 3rd Person Plural

Serbian present tense is not very difficult for understanding and remembering. The only part that might make certain difficulty to the Serbian learners is the form for 3^rd person plural.

Let’s repeat the endings: Singular: -M, -Š, -O, Plural: -MO, -TE, -U/-E/-JU.

These endings are always the same for every verb of Serbian language in present tense whose basic form (infinitive) end with –TI. The only form with variations is 3rd person plural –U/-E/-JU.

But there is a rule that might help us to choose the right ending with a verb we want to conjugate or to use in a sentence.

In 3rd person of Serbian present tense, endings might be –U, -E or –JU. That depends on a 1st  of the verb we want to conjugate. 

If the verb in its 1st person form ends with –im, form in a 3rd person will end with          –E. Verbs: voleti (1st person – volim, 3rd person – vole), videti (1st person – vidim, 3rd person – vide), misliti (1st - person mislim, 3rd person – misle), tražiti (1st person – tražim, 3rd person – traže) etc.

If the verb in its 1st person form ends with –em, form in a 3rd person will end with         –U. Verbs: kazati (1st person – kažem, 3rd person – kažu), piti (1st person – pijem, 3rd person – piju), pasti (1st person – padnem, 3rd person – padnu), jesti (1st person – jedem, 3rd person – jedu), etc. These verbs are most often irregular.

The majority of the verbs end with –JU in a 3rd person plural of present tense. These verbs are mostly regular and end with –am in a 1st person of present tense.

If you have more questions about the Present tense in Serbian language, write to Serbian Teacher Online - kratkeprice@gmail.com
Lidija Novakovic Lagrini